Some rumors stay with you forever, and no one knows that better than Kordell Stewart and Troy Aikman. Both faced difficult times dealing with false narratives about their personal lives, but neither let them define their careers.

“The frustration for me is I just wanted to win,” Kordell Stewart told Awful Announcing, when asked if he had reached out to Troy Aikman. “I didn’t care about nothing. I just wanted to win the game. I wanted my get-back to be winning games. It wasn’t about a conversation because I didn’t need therapy about that.

“Like, that was something that was never a topic of conversation for me, respectfully, about that lifestyle. You know, I’m not here to condemn a group of people that live their lives a certain way. No, that’s not about that. But what was put on me wasn’t to uplift me. It was to degrade and demean and denounce everything about what I was doing because someone was unhappy, you know?”

In 1998, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart became the target of a false rumor about his sexuality that he says was meant to ruin his reputation.

According to USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer, on November 3, he was watching a movie in his basement when a friend called him. The friend told him he had learnt Stewart had been arrested in Pittsburgh for being involved in a lewd act with a trans person.

Stewart denied the story, saying, “None of this stuff ever happened,” per USA Today.

The development spread like wildfire, Stewart said. He had former Pittsburgh teammate Brenston Buckner call him all the way from San Francisco about the news. Per FOX, former teammates from Atlanta and Indianapolis also called.

In 1996, sportswriter Skip Bayless created controversy with his book Hell-Bent, which discussed a rumor about Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman’s sexuality. The book shared an inside look at the Cowboys, but the discussion about Aikman attracted attention.

The rumor affected Aikman too, and he regretted not addressing it.

“I’m upset about it because it was made up and there was nothing accurate about anything that was insinuated,” Aikman said to Richard Deitsch of SI.com back in 2015. “And he did it, as he does everything, just for attention. I am probably more upset because I probably should have responded to it at the time it was going on. The advice to me was, ‘Hey, just don’t address it. It’s not worth it. It doesn’t make any sense.

Nearly 28 years later, Kordell Stewart is speaking openly about his struggles in a new HBO documentary called Kordell Stewart/Slash & Burn.

Speaking to USA Today on October 28, Stewart said he believed someone spread the rumor to “destroy” him. He remembered how quickly the story spread and how it started affecting his fans. Stewart said that children who wore his popular No. 10 Steelers jersey were bullied because of the rumor.

He narrated his experience in The Players’ Tribune, writing that he could feel a shift in the locker room. Stewart recalled a teammate he really “respected” offering him support, insinuating that the QB was a homosexual. Stewart said that he snapped at him.

“This is all lies,” Stewart had told the player.

But nothing could stop him from building a successful career for himself. Kordell Stewart finished his NFL career with 125 games played and a 50-34 record as a starting quarterback. He completed 55.8% of his passes for 14,746 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per attempt. He recorded 77 passing touchdowns.

Now 54, Stewart lives in Atlanta with his son. He also helps coach the South Forsyth High School football team in Georgia.

The post "I Didn't Need Therapy": Former Steelers QB Makes Honest Admission About Reaching Out to Troy Aikman Amid Vile Rumors appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.